Black graffiti was found emblazed on 10 of the Red slatecandidates’ signs for the Associated Students, Inc. electionsin the Library Quad Thursday morning.

Phrases such as “Vote No!” and Greek letters andslogans belonging to Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Phi Alpha and EpsilonSigma Rho were also sprayed on different candidates’signs.

Luke Wood, incumbent candidate for vice president of finance onthe Red slate, contacted University Police around 9:30 a.m., whocame out to the scene and filed a report.

University Police officer Roger Britton, who investigated theincident, said that the police are waiting for victims to establisha timeframe for the vandalism.

Luke, upon searching through trash cans nearby, discovered ablack spray paint can in the trash can by the Santa Clara Hall signthat was taken by the police, Red slate presidential candidate andbrother Josh Wood said.

“The police said that if they find prints, they can matchit to a California driver’s license. They said they’dcall us if they found anything,” Wood said.

The spray can was booked into evidence, Britton said.

Each candidate with a damaged sign must file a separate report,since each sign is paid by each individual candidate.

The current election code states that any repairs to vandalismsmust be counted towards expenses under current campaign expenditurelimits. Recent code revisions that prevent slate members frompooling funds leave damages to be covered by each candidate.

“Everyone knows that budgets are tight. So anyonethat’s (damaging) something as expensive as this will hit ushard,” Luke Wood said. He said that this is the first time hehas seen any damage like this done during an ASI election, thoughone of his signs had been broken, before.

A 4 feet by 8 feet wood sign typically used by candidates costs$15, Wood said. The recent campaign limitations limit executivecandidates’ expenses to $100, while directorial candidates canspend only $50.

ASI President Peter Ucovich, who was unaware of the vandalismswhen contacted Thursday afternoon, said that it’s unfortunatethat these incidents would ever happen to anyone running foroffice.

“Students should be informed about the candidates and whothey are. Anything that’s mudslinging is detrimental to theelection process as a whole,” Ucovich said.

While ASI cannot actively prosecute any offenders or investigatethe incident, individuals could seek retribution by filing electioncomplaints, Ucovich said.